What is the difference between fatherland and motherland

What is the difference between fatherland and motherland? Feel free to just provide example sentences. Report copyright infringement. The owner of it will not be notified. Only the user who asked this question will see who disagreed with this answer. Read more comments. Deleted user. They have the same meaning, but some countries call their homeland their fatherland, and others call it the motherland. Word of the Day. Meanings Meanings. What are the origins of motherland and fatherland?

Who uses m otherland? Who uses fatherland? Don't Get Mixed Up Again! Get Dictionary. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Department of Homeland Security. Word of the day. I am aware of the previous question "Homeland" vs. The answers there, though, only differentiate motherland and fatherland from homeland; they make no distinction between the gendered terms. I am wrestling with this question at the moment in writing about Portugal: it seems to be a matter of semantics.

In the English language, one generally refers "motherland," coupling it with the female "she" in reference.

Ex: "Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering In Portugal it seems "fatherland" is preferred when talking of one's homeland in general terms, but "a minha terra" - feminine - when placing oneself within the country. The difference may seem slight, but it is curious that "fatherland" tends to denote pride and a even a hint of militarism, whereas "motherland" as used in English invokes the concept of a mother's comforting love.

I am currently trying to explore this in a little more detail with academic colleagues in Portugal. WP seems to be quite clear and sure of the distinction between fatherland and motherland :. Fatherland is the nation of one's "fathers", "forefathers" or "patriarchs". It can be viewed as a nationalist concept, insofar as it relates to nations. Compare to motherland and homeland. In most European countries it is still the norm to use the term "fatherland" …. The article also explains the connotations of the expression fatherland and why it is no longer "used often in post-World War II English".

And goes on to list , on the same page, the groups that refer to their native country as a "fatherland" or rather, the most corresponding term to the English word in their languages , or, arguably, associate it primarily with paternal concepts. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top.

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